Perspectives

On reducing the misery index of this fallen world

By Shane Legler
Posted 1/23/25

When our first parents rebelled against God, they broke the world in spectacular fashion. Of course, their rebellion was instigated by the devil. Our first mother couldn’t have known at that …

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Perspectives

On reducing the misery index of this fallen world

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When our first parents rebelled against God, they broke the world in spectacular fashion. Of course, their rebellion was instigated by the devil. Our first mother couldn’t have known at that early time that the old serpent was merely a thief who came to steal, kill and destroy, so she was deceived and disobeyed. However, Adam … Adam ate with understanding and killed the world. From that time until now, the world has suffered under the curse. It has known misery.

Yet, God did not make people for misery. He made them for joy. Therefore, the Lord Jesus came, not just to rescue us from the condemnation that hangs over this fallen world, but to destroy the works of the devil, 1 John 3:8 said. Further, the Lord Jesus died, not just for the redemption of mankind but for the redemption of all creation, Romans 8:21 said. As Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”

What does this mean for God’s church? God’s church is to be about the Lord’s business of redemption in this world. She is to preach the good news of redemption and the forgiveness of sins that all people may have life and hope in Christ. She is also to actively stand against every evil done in this fallen world. She is to be the Lord’s instrument to destroy the works of the devil and work to see that his will is done on earth as it is in heaven. This is what Christians of earlier generations might have called the church militant. However, she is not to overcome evil with evil but to overcome evil with good.

Our God is good to all. “He is kind to the ungrateful and the evil,” Luke 6:35 says, and this is the basis for his command to his own to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them. As a good Father, God always looks to mitigate our misery and suffering in this fallen world. Just as we might bind the hand of one of our children when they touch the hot stove against our will and to their own hurt, so God binds our wounds and tends to our hurts, even in our rebellion. 

God commands his church to be part of that work. Telling his children that feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, and caring for the prisoner are all works that he counts as works done unto himself, Matthew 25:35-40 said. Further, he tells his own to “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter,” Proverbs 24:11 said. In short, Christ expects us to stand between the devil and his prey.

And the Lord’s church has done exactly this. As I shared with my own congregation this last Lord’s day, it was the church that brought hospitals into this broken world out of love for Christ. It was the church caring for plague victims in third century Rome, despite having suffered persecution from the Romans. Bishop Basil may very well have built the first true hospital in the fourth century, and his fellow bishops, to include Chrysostom of Constantinople, followed his example. The church has been building hospitals ever since; it has also built schools, orphanages, and all manner of charities to make the misery and sufferings we encounter in this fallen world a little more tolerable.

The so-called “Ivy League” schools in our nation were all built by God’s people. Yet, the devil snaked his way into them and corrupted them. That is his way. Yet, the Lord’s people are to be about restoring. That is the Lord’s way. We have been left in the world to do the work of Christ in the world to the glory of God. The Gospel is far more than fire insurance. Our Lord Jesus bids everyone to turn from their sin and follow him. We are to see his will done on earth as it is in heaven.

Church, there is so much work to do and so few hands to do it. I pray my God will supply laborers for the work. Has our Lord not said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father,” John 14:12 said. Christian, I’m now going to give you an opportunity to join Christ in destroying a work of the devil. 

Our Legislature is in session. Please write to your representative and urge them to pass HB0043. This bill will require online porn sites to verify the age of their users in Wyoming. We have a lot of kids addicted to online porn in our own town. Let’s make it harder for the devil to get at them and reduce the misery index in our own community. Strike a blow for the kingdom and stand between the devil and his prey.

 

(Shane Legler is the pastor of Powell Church of God.)

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